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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Apr 1.
Published in final edited form as: Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2016 Mar 3;27(4):192–203. doi: 10.1016/j.tem.2016.02.003

Figure 2. Sleep and circadian brain circuitry in mammals.

Figure 2

The SCN is the central circadian pacemaker, entraining other brain regions as well as peripheral tissues. The SCN projects directly to the wake-promoting LH, which contains hypocretin neurons, and to the DMH. The DMH projects broadly to sleep and arousal centers. Abbreviations: SCN: suprachiasmatic nucleus; DMH: dorsomedial hypothalamus; LH: lateral hypothalamus; LC: locus coeruleus; VLPO: ventrolateral preoptic area